Foresight V Hindsight

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Reen Davis, Dec 31, 2022.

  1. Reen Davis

    Reen Davis Well-Known Member
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    If I knew then what I know now ....:oops:
    How many of us have said that at least once in our lives ? Sometimes 'foresight' fails us and we
    end up making a decision that 'hindsight' later shows us was the wrong one. I know it's happened
    to me on more than one occasion.

    One case in point - the last house I lived in. Had I known how useless the night storage heating
    would turn out to be and the constant issues with damp I would have - I would never have moved in.

    Whether it is a new house, a new area you move to, something you bought or something you
    did/didn't do, sometimes hindsight reveals what foresight didn't.

    So what about you - what hindsight moments have you experience ?
     
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  2. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    We often look at hindsight as a portion of our life that we regret and to be truthful, I have Many regrets that could have been prevented “had I known”.
    I wouldn’t have any X wives but just this one that I have. I might not have bothered myself so much with investing in a higher education and used that money and time for other things.
    So many things I can think of that I “might” have changed had I just known, but then, one cannot underestimate the amount of knowledge and wisdom that comes from the lessons learned from a long life of experiences, be they good, or bad.

    Not to change the thread but merely to add to it, how about those instances when in hindsight, if we had taken another avenue it might have led to some downfall, peril or even our demise?
    Like the time when I pulled my RV off the side of the road and then got hit by an 18 wheeler. In hindsight, if I just dared to travel another mile or so, the RV wouldn’t have been destroyed by the sleeping driver.
    But also in hindsight, if I had been anywhere else than where I was within that RV, I would, according to those who inspected the wreckage, more than likely have been killed
     
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  3. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I'm having hindsight right now, wishing I had done a tone of projects in this home I moved into 12 years ago. My life would be better, and I would not have this backlog wearing on me. But there are reasons we procrastinate.

    On the other hand, when I take a lesson and use it to move forward in my life, I can't beat myself up for not having learned it before. "Improvement" always implies a prior lesser state, but we cannot reject improving so as to avoid coming to terms with any regret it might bring.
     
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  4. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    I get buyers remorse after almost any animal I get, for a little while. Come to think about it, I get it after almost any large purchase. But most have turned out just fine.
    I can even think of when I stood at the alter and thought uhmmmmm....
     
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  5. Reen Davis

    Reen Davis Well-Known Member
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    I agree it is something that works both ways, so thank you for adding your example. Your heart must have skipped a couple of beats when your RV got hit ! - glad your still here to tell the tale :)
     
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  6. Reen Davis

    Reen Davis Well-Known Member
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    I read something recently that might be relevant to your comment, but can't remember the exact wording. It was something to do with life lessons but rather than risk taking it out of context by writing what I think it said, l will try and find it again first.
     
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  7. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    I can’t remember a lot of it.
    One second I was sitting in a seat at the back of the RV and the next second I was somewhere between 50-100 feet from the wreckage. After that, I briefly remember walking toward the wreckage and then being hauled into the back of an ambulance.

    The thing is, I pulled the RV off the highway and well past the safety strip and into the grass. There was absolutely nothing around me that the truck could hit. If the driver had lost control a second before or after, he would have just gone safely onto the grass.
     
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  8. Reen Davis

    Reen Davis Well-Known Member
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    I can certainly relate to buyers remorse. One of my most recent ones was when I moved into this house.
    I needed a sofa and chair and thought I'd made the right choice, but it turned out not to be. Thankfully, I had bought from a charity shop, so was able to change it without too much cost involved. If I had bought new I would not have been able to change it as easily.
     
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    Last edited: Jan 1, 2023
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